Atlanta’s Housing Crisis is Destroying Communities
We’re building a different future—one where community control beats corporate greed.
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A Tale of Extreme Inequality
Atlanta has become a city of stark contrasts, where prosperity for some means displacement for many others.
Atlanta has the highest income inequality in the nation
Half of Black households can’t cover 3 months of bills if they lose income
Over half of renters spend more than 30% of income on housing
This isn’t sustainable growth. It’s extraction.
Our fund to scale community ownership
Across the country, communities of color act as rich groundcover — bolstering local economies through small businesses, adding cultural vibrancy, and strengthening democracy by organizing for racial justice and equity. Yet, due to gentrification, and systemic racism overall, this rich groundcover is eroding. Black communities, and other communities of color continue to be disproportionately displaced and economically marginalized. At the heart of these compounding, capitalism-fueled crises, is the issue of prioritizing profits over people.
In order to repair and restore this rich groundcover, we believe it is necessary to invest in alternative development models that prevent community erosion and build community wealth.
What we do
Atlanta has become a city of stark contrasts, where prosperity for some means displacement for many others.
Development
We build affordable mixed-use spaces for long-term residents, entrepreneurs, artists and activists. We also partner with other community-based developers and offer technical assistance and consulting services to develop projects through a community wealth-building lens.
Ecosystem Organizing
We partner with other community-based organizations to transform the economic and political landscape, with the goal of building ‘solidarity economies’ with justice and equity-centered institutions.
Integrated Capital Fund
Our fund, called Groundcover, uses non-extractive capital to invest in scaling up cooperative models that create a pathway for ownership for Black and other communities of color.
Entrepreneurship & Real Estate Programming
Our programs support entrepreneurs of color looking to build sustainable wealth for their communities via structures like worker-owned cooperatives. We also work to help entrepreneurs acquire commercial real estate, with a focus on helping Black-owned businesses retain ownership in gentrifying neighborhoods.
Community Ownership
We create community-owned real estate models. Features include permanent affordability of housing, resident control, collective decision-making, and taking housing off the speculative market.
Our community ownership models
To create a future where neighborhood residents can enjoy their communities without fear of displacement, The Guild develops residential and commercial real estate projects that are owned by the working-class Black and Brown residents of the communities where they are located. Two models that we are exploring to meet this goal are our Community Stewardship Trust (CST) and The People’s Land Trust (PCLT).